The ongoing travails of the Pakistan Test team at home to Bangladesh are a precise echo of the two countries' economic development.....and that bodes badly for Pakistan. Because I think there is a common cause for the malaise.
Obviously in 1971 when Pakistan split in half, Bangladesh was the half with the poor cricketers and around 20% of the wealth.
We are watching what is happening in the cricket.
Meanwhile 170 million Bangladeshis live in a $455 billion economy, with per capita GDP of $2,646.
While 242 million Pakistanis live in a $338 billion economy, with per capita GDP of $1,461.
But I see fast bowlers who bowl 20K slower than their parents' generation did.
Spin bowlers who aren't just worse than Abdul Qadir or Intikhab Alam. They are worse than Iqbal Qasim or Tauseef Ahmed or even Mushtaq Muhammad.
I see batsmen who can't survive a session.
I see a skipper who is a lovely guy, but who - like Azhar Ali - was appointed captain at an age where all his contemporaries outside Asia have already retired.
Generally in most countries most sportsmen aren't terribly smart or educated. And cricket academies elsewhere exist to ensure that the likes of Dave Warner learn how to think more than that they learn how to play.
But in Pakistan there is no concept of the most talented players being national treasures which have to be nurtured.
Consider Shadab Khan. By the time Mickey Arthur was first fired in 2019, he was a decent but half-developed spinner, top fielder and exceptional lower-middle order batsman. He's incapable of learning that he needs to play a lot of red ball cricket to become a reliable bowler with any colour of ball.
Pakistan fans just go "he's made bad choices, that's his problem". What they don't see is that it's actually THEIR problem. They don't have another spinner who can bat at Number 7 or 8, so in the last Test they ended up with Shaheen Afridi batting at 8!
Pakistan did fine in the 1980s because Imran Khan could actually think and make sensible decisions. They did OK in the Wasim Akram eras because he could to a certain extent.
But now they languish because the best players are allowed to make dumb decisions and then get excluded.
The second Mickey Arthur era ended with this team at Number 2 in this round of the World Test Championship. At least he could think for his team.
But now? What a mess!
Obviously in 1971 when Pakistan split in half, Bangladesh was the half with the poor cricketers and around 20% of the wealth.
We are watching what is happening in the cricket.
Meanwhile 170 million Bangladeshis live in a $455 billion economy, with per capita GDP of $2,646.
While 242 million Pakistanis live in a $338 billion economy, with per capita GDP of $1,461.
But I see fast bowlers who bowl 20K slower than their parents' generation did.
Spin bowlers who aren't just worse than Abdul Qadir or Intikhab Alam. They are worse than Iqbal Qasim or Tauseef Ahmed or even Mushtaq Muhammad.
I see batsmen who can't survive a session.
I see a skipper who is a lovely guy, but who - like Azhar Ali - was appointed captain at an age where all his contemporaries outside Asia have already retired.
Generally in most countries most sportsmen aren't terribly smart or educated. And cricket academies elsewhere exist to ensure that the likes of Dave Warner learn how to think more than that they learn how to play.
But in Pakistan there is no concept of the most talented players being national treasures which have to be nurtured.
Consider Shadab Khan. By the time Mickey Arthur was first fired in 2019, he was a decent but half-developed spinner, top fielder and exceptional lower-middle order batsman. He's incapable of learning that he needs to play a lot of red ball cricket to become a reliable bowler with any colour of ball.
Pakistan fans just go "he's made bad choices, that's his problem". What they don't see is that it's actually THEIR problem. They don't have another spinner who can bat at Number 7 or 8, so in the last Test they ended up with Shaheen Afridi batting at 8!
Pakistan did fine in the 1980s because Imran Khan could actually think and make sensible decisions. They did OK in the Wasim Akram eras because he could to a certain extent.
But now they languish because the best players are allowed to make dumb decisions and then get excluded.
The second Mickey Arthur era ended with this team at Number 2 in this round of the World Test Championship. At least he could think for his team.
But now? What a mess!
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I see what you did there..
